


I Won't Back Down

by henceforth_armageddon



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout - Fandom, Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Story, Items not included in the game...yet (hello mods), LGBTQ Themes, Nonbinary Character, Other, Slightly OOC Codsworth, Teen!Sole Survivor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:28:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28990719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henceforth_armageddon/pseuds/henceforth_armageddon
Summary: You can stand them up at the gates of hell but they won't back down. Louise was just a teen just getting ready to enter adulthood when the bombs went off. After finding their way out of Vault 111 they find themselves in quite the predicament....and then....raiders.[UNEDITED FOR THE TIME BEING]
Relationships: Porter Gage & Raider Character(s), Porter Gage/Sole Survivor





	I Won't Back Down

**Author's Note:**

> Keep in mind this is my first story on here. Be kind.

Louise. That's the name they chose to go by when they saw their parents dead. It was better than 'Thing'. It was a nod to where they grew up before moving to The Commonwealth. Louise looked to the chambers where they had been sitting then to the door. Well, why not leave this place? It's only been, like, what? A few minutes since the bombs went off? They'd rather take the chances of dying from radiation poisoning. Louise skipped over to the doorway and found a pipe wrench. Maybe they could use it to sneak out. 

However, horror started to slowly sink in. Why the hell is that cockroach so huge? Why are there skeletons laying everywhere? Where is everybody?

"Maybe...maybe it's been more than a few minutes?" They thought to themselves.

"Wait...freezing? Pods? Ohmygodno. What year is it?!" Louise scrambled around trying to find something that would help them. A roach scuttled up to them and they stomped it dead. That's when they found a room with a terminal. Let's see if they remembered how to do this.

It seemed like hours when really it was within a minute they got into the terminal. 

2287? Huh, that...that can't be right. It was 2077 not too long ago. Maybe it was a cryogenic pod they were in? For 200 years? Louise started to hyperventilate. They fell to the ground huffing and crying. Not being able to breathe is terrible. Crying is terrible. Everything is terrible.

"I'M GOING TO DIE HERE! I GOTTA FIND A WAY OUT! DAMMIT CALM DAMN LOUISE! CALM! I SAID BE FUCKING CALM...there. At least you're somewhat calmed down." They continued talking to themself to ease everything. Now they really don't care if they die from radiation. Wait...what did their science teacher say again? Something about fallout? It's been a little over 200 years maybe the fallout isn't as bad as it was a long time ago? They lifted themself from the ground and continued to roam the vault. They remembered the way they came in but decided to explore a little bit. They found a backpack, their old clothes, some food, water, ammo, and a gun. Perfect. They dawned the old Nuka-World T-shirt and the old skirt as well as some boots and their old fishnets. They looked like a mess...oh well. 

How they could bounce from upset, to happy, to angry was a mystery to them but at least they were feeling a little better.

"OOH! SHINY BUTTON!" Lousie yelled as they tripped over a skeleton. They looked to the skeleton and found something attached to it's wrist. They took it off the skeleton and put it on themself. Holy shit...it actually turned on! Maybe it can play the two games they found while wondering around? Oh, right, the button. They pushed the button and the room slightly shook. A loud buzz was heard and a bridge moved in front of them. 

"Huh...thought that button would lead to some sort of explosion...OH WELL THIS IS COOL TOO!" They skipped across the bridge and onto the elevator they took about 200 years ago. 

~~~

Bright sunlight hit Louise in the face. Needless to say they were not amused. They glanced around the area. Skeletons...dead grass and shrubs...trees either fallen or dead....or both. They wandered around before finding spotting Sanctuary Hills. Some of the houses were still intact. 

"Holy shit...it's a goddamn miracle." They started to chuckle as they sprinted down the hill. The sprinting didn't last long before they tripped and fell the rest of the way down. With a thud the a plank of wood stopped them. Oh damn that's gonna leave some bruising. 

"Louise?" Louise groaned and looked up. Never in their life would they be so glad they met back up with Codsworth. The only person Louise knew that used the correct pronouns, name, etc for them. Though he didn't outwardly dislike his Sir or Mum he loved Louise. He's seen and heard what they've done to Louise. Years of abuse lead to Louise not only learning not to trust those who look innocent (because some of them aren't as innocent as they seem) but also only trusting Codsworth. The only one who truly knew what happened.

"CODSWORTH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM TO SEE YOU! HOW DID YOU SURVIVE?! YOU KNOW WHAT I DON'T CARE JUST HUG ME ALREADY!" Tears spilled from Louise's eyesockets as the small nearly-adult-teen embraced the Mr. Handy. 

Codsworth let out a chuckle and embraced them the best he could with his appendages. He didn't bother asking about Sir or Mum. He was happy just to have Louise around. 

"It's been 200 years! And...how are you here?" Codsworth's robotic voice dropped.

"Cryogenic freezing."

"Oh, that's marvelous! 200 years? Well, it's finally great to have someone in Sanctuary again...a familiar face!"

Louise felt something off about the way their robot companion spoke, "Codsworth...are you....feeling okay?"

"....OH LOUISE! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO CLEAN NUCLEAR STAINS OFF THE FLOOR? HOW DO YOU CLEAN RUST OFF OF-" Codsworth kept rambling on about how hard it's been to keep everything clean after the bombs. Louise tried to make light of the situation with a trick they learned before their parents bought Codsworth. 

"Have you tried baking soda?" Though Cosworth nervously chuckled that didn't stop him from continuing his rant.

"CODSWORTH! Calm down, okay? Listen...is it just you in Sanctuary?" 

"I highly doubt it, Louise. My sensors have detected movement in some of the houses. Shall we take a look?" Codsworth tried to bring himself back to a cheery tone to liven up the day. "Perhaps after searching the neighborhood I can scrounge up some food for you. You seem hungry." He glided across the ground and into a house. More of those over sized roaches scurried around and tried to attack them both. As they searched the other houses they found more roaches.

~~~

They both sat around a cooking fire. Codsworth was spit roasting the meat from the roaches. "As much as I dislike to bring up anything, where is Sir and Mum?"

"Codsworth," Louise grinned at the robot, "Those dudes are dead as hell." Codsworth chuckled then glanced back to Louise.

"Could you please wait....oh let's see it's October....three more months before swearing? The word Hell is fine. So is Bloody Hell. But anything more than tier 1 swearing I'd appreciate you saying when you turn 18." Louise nodded and looked up to the stars. "I know how you feel about promises...pinkie promise me." Oh boy. Pinkie promises. 

"Alright Coddie. Pinkie promise." Louise wrapped their pinkie around Codsworth's appendage used for grabbing. He got a glance at Louise' Pipboy (as he called it). "My stars! It's getting late! We should get you to bed! There's a sleeping bag inside our old home. Follow me. I'll tuck you in as I did before the bombs dropped. OH! And I have a surprise! Two actually!" Codsworth lead Louise into the old house and into the far right of the living room where the old TV had stood. There was a yellow sleeping bag on the floor. Louise pulled back the top cover and lied down. Before they could zip it up Codsworth had already zipped it up for them. "About the two surprises," Codsworth dashed across the floor and into a room then came back out with a holotape and a stuffed animal. "I found this holotape. I didn't want to invade privacy but I wanted to see who it was addressed to. It's addressed to you." Louise picked up the holotape. On the tape, written in sharpie, had the phrase 'Musical Misc. Mix.' Codsworth had explained that before the bombs had fully dropped the nice old lady from across the street, someone Louise would always visit because her grandkids never came over, had put together a holotape of songs she thought Louise would like. She was like a mother to Louise. Next Louise grabbed the stuffed animal. The fur was as soft yet ratty. Some of the fur and clumped down and would only come back up if it were washed. Louise remembered the stuffed animal. Snowball the Pig. A gift from an old friend in Louisiana before their family moved up to The Commonwealth. It was originally given to Louise as a joke due to the slight fear of the animal. But they've always held the stuffed pig close. Even today, as old and ratty as it was, they will continue to sleep with it. It was times like this Louise cherished. When they had calmed down enough to really think about one thing at a time. After all, thoughts are always racing through their head. They had forgotten the pig existed because of not seeing it. Object permanence was not something Louise was good at comprehending.

**Author's Note:**

> "Well, I won't back down  
> No, I won't back down  
> You can stand me up at the gates of hell  
> But I won't back down  
> No, I'll stand my ground  
> Won't be turned around  
> And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down  
> Gonna stand my ground"
> 
> \- I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty


End file.
